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human ear
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Cross-section diagram of the human ear showing the outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear, with labeled parts including the auricle, auditory canal, tympanic membrane, ossicles, cochlea, semicircular canals, and nerves.
Black-and-white photo of a man in a suit plugging his ears with his fingers. An orange polka dot pattern is behind his head.
Watch sound wave vibrations in the tympanic membrane
structures of the middle ear labyrinth of the inner ear Diagram of the human vestibular system showing the membranous labyrinth with labeled structures for balance: the cristae in the semicircular ducts and the maculae in the utricle and saccule. Insets detail the crista with hair cells and cupula, and the macula with hair cells, otolithic membrane, and supporting structures. structures of the cochlea; human ear organ of Corti; human ear healthy organ of Corti from a guinea pig damaged organ of Corti from a guinea pig
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Cross-section diagram of the human ear showing the outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear, with labeled parts including the auricle, auditory canal, tympanic membrane, ossicles, cochlea, semicircular canals, and nerves.
human ear Structure of the human ear.

human ear

anatomy
Written by
Joseph E. Hawkins
Emeritus Professor of Otolaryngology (Physiological Acoustics), Medical School, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Editor of Otophysiology.
Joseph E. Hawkins
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
Last updated
•History

human ear, organ of hearing and equilibrium that detects and analyzes sound by transduction (or the conversion of sound waves into electrochemical impulses) and maintains the sense of balance (equilibrium). The human ear, like that of other mammals, contains sense organs that serve two quite different functions: that of hearing and that of postural equilibrium and coordination of head and eye movements. Anatomically, the ear has three distinguishable parts: the outer, middle, and inner ear....

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